Propane furnace safety

[Byron Kinnaman]

Originally Posted by minke

IIRC boats with propane appliances use propane detectors. Propane, unlike natural gas, is heavier than air and a leak will fill up the hull. The danger is not (?) from breathing it but explosions. Are trailers leaky enough for the gas to escape in the event of a leak? A boat that'll let the propane escape is already sinking! If propane detectors are called for they belong near the floor for obvious reasons.

Continuing to run my mouth without knowing what I'm talking about, I'd say that a propane detector does not obviate a CO detector. A propane furnace with less than complete combustion could still kill with CO.

As this is all new to me I'd appreciate any comments and criticism.

Look around you and see how many RVs are on the road, lots of them. How many are in storage places, lots. All those RVs have a propane furnace or vast majority do. How many houses have propane furnaces, a pretty large number. Look around for propane tanks in back yards.

My point is that if it wasn't safe it have to change to be safe with as many as there are out there.

Now that said, there are some things you can do to be a bit more sure of your safety. A propane detector is good idea, located close to the floor. Because you camp next other campers and have a stove cook surface a CO detector can provide a bit more feeling of being safe. Keep some air flowing through the trailer, day and night. Furnace inspection to make sure there's no leaks in the fire box and inspection of all propane connections.

Where I live there's "mud dobbers", wasps that build mud nests. To prevent them from doing that in the exhaust or air intake for the fire box I bought a special screen to keep them out. I say special because it's made for that purpose and to NOT restrict air flow.

Now relax and enjoy the comforts of propane heat.

[Borrego Dave]

EXLNT answer Byron.

[TomK]

Jon, this is the other style flying insect screen Byron referred to. They are a real pest up here in IL too. This style comes with a little installation tool. It's a two minute job. On sale at CW.

Flying Insect Screen for Duo-therm, Suburban and Durotherm Furnaces - Camco 42141 - Insect Control - Camping World

Tom

[Carol H]

I personally would not own a trailer that did not have a built in propane furnace or a fridge that ran on propane. I would not want to give up the flexibility of being able to camp for days on end without the need for a generator. Yup I have solar on my trailer but it doesnt work out to well on overcast days with lots of tree coverage.

Yes one needs to be sure the propane system is inspected regularly (just like your home furnace) and that you have a propane and CO detectors that actually work & that you replace them every few years. Just like the smoke and CO detectors you have in your home. I may have less of a fear about using propane due to having spent my life growing up in homes with either oil, propane or natural gas furnaces. Any combustion system in a home can and will produce CO if not properly maintained and vented just as is the case in an RV.

Having said that and after rereading the OP's original question I admit I would be very reluctant to use a propane furnace that had been in a trailer since 1974 no matter how good it looks & even if I had a CO detector. Just as I would have concerns for my safety and that of my families with running a 40 year old gas furnace in my home.

There are old RV propane furnaces out there that are not safe to use due to rust or lack of adequate venting in their original design & as a result they are no longer made. As a number of old Boler owners here in BC have discovered there are qualified repair people who will not touch the old furnaces with the poor venting other than to pull them out and replace them with a newer safer designed furnace.

If I was the OP I would as other suggest take the trailer to a qualified/certified party (not the neighbour who has had lots of old trailers he has fixed up) and listen carefully to what they say about the furnace & its safe use.

IMO CO is as they say a silent killer & not something worth taking a risk with just to save a couple of hundred dollars by not buying a newer safer designed furnace.